Social Media Is Taking Over The World

And I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

In the age where almost everyone has a smartphone and the access to apps, everyone is more "in the know" than ever before.

We all know where we were on May 1, 2011. I was sitting on my couch watching the Phillies play the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. I checked my Facebook and kept reading that "he was finally killed." Now, doing some research, I found that he, was in fact Osama Bin Laden. Well, everyone at home or on their computers were now aware that Bin Laden had been killed, but what about the 45,000+ fans in attendance? Only those in the press box were made aware.

Well, thanks to cell phone, smartphones, and apps on those phones, fans started becoming aware of we, at home, had known for up to an hour already. Slowly, the chants of USA! USA! broke out and it was a site to see.

There were social media sites out before Facebook (though people still don't believe that) like Friendster and even MySpace. But they weren't the destination on the internet. Now, social media sites have the most hits on the internet.  Some of these sites are for a particular audience while others are just general sites that anyone can join. Are they distracting and time consuming? You bet. But are we getting a lot of our news, our information and even get-well wishes on those sites? Yes!

We do post our lives on Facebook and we do try to get in touch with celebrities on Twitter, but also see pictures of family members who may not live close and it is the best way to keep in touch these days. People feel much more connected now than they ever have, even if they are becoming less social in person. We text, we don't call. We'll facetime but when together, we'll text someone else. We're so used to using our fingers that we're forgetting to use our mouth.

I have a tumblr (which I just am getting used to), a Twitter, Foursquare, Loopt, Digg, Stumbleupon, Tweetdeck, LinkedIn, Facebook, and that's only to name a few. I follow my sports teams, my friends, the news, fake celebrities, and job openings to see what's available. Is it a bad thing that I'm that connected. I think not.

Aren't we forgetting what's in front of us though?

How many people have been on a date, a movie, or even a sporting event and taken out your phone to check your pages? Probably more than read this blog, but it is true. We do let social media take over our lives and forget what's going on right in front of us. We're so "tuned in" that we forget there is a life in front of us. But when we try to forget it, there's an advertisement telling us to follow them on Twitter or "like" them on Facebook. So there really never is a time to turn it off.

The best thing about social media is that it is becoming standard on most smartphones. And some social media sites are actually partnering up with phone companies.

If I'm at the Phillies game and I see someone leave the game early, I'll check my Twitter to see what they found out. I'll check in on Foursquare to see who else is there with me. And then I'll write a status to let my friends know I'm at the game and we'll grab a drink. It's even a great way to meet new people at the game.

Most generations, except for Generation Y, always say that we should get off the computer and talk to people, yet the biggest number of new users are those Baby Boomers and our grandparents who are getting in touch with friends from their past now. But they want us to get off the computer so they can get on!

While some will criticize these social media websites, I don't see a huge decline on people deactivating their accounts. In fact, there are more sites than ever before.

Social media a fad? I think not. Just look at all the businesses that have are making jobs for social media.

America's Eyes Are Finally Opening

Some boys like girls.

Some girls like boys. 

Some girls like girls. 

Some boys like boys.

So why would people care who somebody else marries? 

Well America is finally starting to figure that all men are created equal and people should be free to marry who they want. We're doing this one state at a time. I'm not saying this will happen overnight, but just as waking up in the morning, it takes time to open your eyes and see the big picture.

Friday night, pretty much in front of the entire world, NY became the 6th state to allow gays to marry. Facebook and Twitter were being bombarded with pride pictures and happy statuses, but the one thing everyone had in common, was the thought of equality. What would have made this law better, was if it happened the Sunday of the Tony's when Neil Patrick Harris declared the theater wasn't only for the gays and Jews anymore. And I'm now proud say that NPH is engaged to his longtime boyfriend. 

Just as the Jewish people were afraid to say they were Jewish during WWII, many gays today are afraid to say they are gay for the fear of persecution. But no one should ever be afraid to tell people who they truly are. Over the past year, many teens and adults have committed suicide because they were picked on for being gay. Are people ever picked on for being straight? I doubt it, but because they like the same sex, they are considered outcasts. That is beyond blasphemous.

More and more celebrities are coming out of the closet or have a huge gay following that they accept and  become like a spokesperson for the gay community. Lady Gaga, Kathy Griffin, Anderson Cooper, and Liza Minnelli are only a few celebrities who have a huge gay following and each of them have told the community: It gets better. Just look at the campaign that more and more people are making videos telling those who are gay that is does get better.

Let those who used the term "gay" as a derogatory term finally see that those who are gay are the same as you and me. The only difference is who they go to bed with. We, as a nation, have look at the good in a person and think positively. Some are afraid that if a gay couple adopts a baby, when the baby grows up, he's going to be ridiculed and made fun of for having two parents of the same sex. But if we start teaching our kids now that some children have two moms or two dads, then when they grow up, they will be accepting of everyone. 

Negative thoughts have negative outcomes and positive thoughts can have positive outcomes.

California, you're next. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, the District of Columbia and now New York have already paved the way for same-sex marriage. Many countries as a whole are allowing it.  Proposition 8 is a travesty and will be overturned, I guarantee it!

America is finally waking up and realizing that there should be equality for all. Your race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation should not separate you from anyone else. In fact, what makes us different should also bring us together. 

Celebrity Jackass Dies... But Who Crowned Them A Celebrity?

It's been almost a week now that "celebrity" Jackass star Ryan Dunn took the life of his friend and himself in a complete disregard for human life.

First off, I want to clarify why I use quotation marks on celebrity. While I, myself, have watched Jackass in the past, I did not think of those guys as celebrities. I thought of them as crazy guys who had no regard for themselves and just did things for the sake of a laugh. Though, they did get paid for it, I wouldn't qualify Jackass itself or any other spinoff of it, as a pole-vault to celebrity stardom. Maybe it's a way to start a career as a stuntman, but they wouldn't look at it that way.

We use social media constantly to update our feelings, locations, emotions and just our thoughts. What we don't realize is that once you hit enter or publish, it's in cyberspace and at least one person has seen it. We have Facebook, Twitter, Loopt, Digg, Tumblr, etc and most of these have the capability to post pictures and write comments. Another thing we don't realize is that it is possible to get in trouble with the law for what we post, current or past posts.

Well...Ryan Dunn did what most people do with a social media site: post a picture at a bar with his friends. Seems harmless, right? Not when your car crashes, explodes and you die two hours later. First thought running through many peoples minds was that he was driving drunk, which was confirmed less than two days later.

But there were also plenty of people who, because he's a celebrity, thought it was a freak accident or a deer jumped in the middle of the road. Everyone who lives in that area can attest that the road isn't the safest to drive on. What most people didn't consider was that he was driving a Porsche, he was just drinking, and that he's had an exuberant number of speeding tickets.

Drinking + Porsche + Previous Parking Tickets = Accident Waiting To Happen

Facebook pages, blogs and news websites poured with articles on Dunn's accident. I even received a text message under "celebrity news" that he died. But everyone mourned his death, stating they wanted him to "RIP" and he was "Gone too soon," but people fail to realize that he really did it to himself. Were there pages dedicated to his friend, who did get into the car with a drunk driver, to RIP? Very few, if none.

We're so quick to mourn celebrities and "celebrities" when they pass. Would we mourn when Michael Lohan, who's only become a "celebrity," dies? Probably not. Those Real Housewives Of.... probably not. Jersey Shore cast? Hopefully not, but people might follow them for the rest of their lives.

I've been around death too much in my life that I do hope people live a long, happy and healthy life. Too many people, especially those who think they are above everyone else, have little regard for the outcome of their actions. According to society, we should be happy for celebrities when they marry and have children, then mourn their death, no matter how they died.

Ryan Dunn, you took the life of another by being reckless. You did the biggest jackass move of all time: drinking and driving. I appreciate you making me laugh and go "Oh my gosh" but I will not mourn your death.

You might be a son, a friend, a nephew, etc and I will want you to Rest In Peace. Just realize that if you survived that crash and Zac didn't, you would be behind bars.